Pakistan in 'French nuclear deal'

19:24 GMT, Friday, 15 May 2009 20:24 UK
Pakistan in 'French nuclear deal'

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and French President Nicolas Sarkozy

France and Pakistan have agreed to co-operate on civilian nuclear power, officials said, with Islamabad calling the move a "significant development".

But there is confusion over the deal reached by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Pakistani counterpart.

Pakistani officials said Mr Sarkozy had undertaken to supply Pakistan with "civilian nuclear technology".

But the Elysee Palace said France had agreed only to co-operate in the field of "nuclear safety".

Mixed messages

Speaking to reporters after talks between Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Mr Sarkozy, Pakistan's foreign minister outlined what he called a "significant development."

"France has agreed to transfer civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan," Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters.

Mr Qureshi said the move was in recognition of the growing "energy crisis" in Pakistan, citing the need for nuclear power to guarantee the country's electricity supply.

But later a spokesman for the French presidency was careful to rein in expectations, saying Mr Sarkozy had "confirmed France was ready, within the framework of its international agreements, to co-operate with Pakistan in the field of nuclear safety."

"This is so the Pakistani programme can develop in the best conditions of safety and security," the French spokesman added, according to AFP news agency.

As well as a nuclear power station, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, but increasing turmoil in the country has caused concern among Western powers about its safety.

Nuclear boycott

France is in fact not in a position to begin unilaterally transferring nuclear technology to Pakistan, says correspondent Hugh Schofield in Paris.

That is because Pakistan is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is therefore the object of a boycott from other nuclear powers.

India was in a similar situation, but last year negotiated its way back into the nuclear fold.

Pakistan would like to follow suit, Hugh Schofield adds, but concerns over the stability of the government there means that any suggestion of countries like France transferring new nuclear technology are bound to be highly controversial.

The two leaders also discussed aid for civilians fleeing fighting in Pakistan's north-west.

France pledged 12m euros ($16.3m; £10.7m) in humanitarian aid, a day after Britain promised £12m.

France also reiterated its support for Pakistan's fight against the Taleban and "terrorist groups" in the region.

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Obama to revive military trials

By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington

Published: May 15 2009 23:47 | Last updated: May 15 2009 23:52

President Barack Obama on Friday announced that he would use military commissions to try some of the 240 prisoners detained at Guantánamo Bay, angering civil rights groups for the second time in a week.

During the presidential campaign, Mr Obama criticised the military commissions that George W. Bush created at Guantánamo to try prisoners captured in the “war on terror”. In explaining his decision on Friday, Mr Obama said the commissions would be restructured to give detainees more rights.

“Military commissions have a long tradition in the United States,” said Mr Obama. “They are appropriate for trying enemies who violate the laws of war, provided that they are properly structured and administered.”

One major change with the existing commissions would be that evidence obtained by “cruel, inhuman and degrading” interrogation techniques would not be admissible. Mr Obama said the introduction of hearsay would be more limited, and detainees would have more flexibility to choose their own lawyer.

“These reforms will begin to restore the commissions as a legitimate forum for prosecution,” said Mr Obama. “This is the best way to protect our country, while upholding our deeply-held values.”

Human rights groups that had welcomed Mr Obama’s campaign stance on the commissions and his January decision to close Guantánamo criticised the move. The Center for Constitutional Rights, which has filed legal cases on behalf of hundreds of detainees, said it was an “alarming development”.

“President Obama was elected to restore the rule of law, not continue to reinvent it,” the CCR said. “It will substantiate our allies’ ongoing loss of faith in the commitment of the United States to the rule of law, and undermine their willingness to help the Obama administration close Guantánamo.”

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, criticised Mr Obama for “backtracking dangerously on his reform agenda”, saying the commissions were “flawed beyond repair”.

“There is no good reason why the Guantánamo cases shouldn’t be tried in federal court,” said Mr Roth. “In the more than seven years since the military commissions were announced, only three suspects have been prosecuted. The federal courts, by contrast, have tried more than 145 terrorism cases during the same period.”

Mr Obama was condemned by civil rights advocates earlier this week when he reversed his previous decision to release hundreds of photos of US soldiers abusing detainees at detention facilities other than Abu Ghraib, the notorious Baghdad prison. Once again, however, Republicans welcomed his actions.

John McCain, the Arizona Republican who ran against Mr Obama for the presidency, said he was “pleased” that Mr Obama had taken the decision. But he said other questions remained unresolved, including how the US will deal with detainees that cannot be tried but are considered too dangerous to be released.

“Today’s announcement is a step – but only a step – toward a comprehensive detainee policy that will deal with the detainees held at Guantánamo and elsewhere in a fashion that both accords with our values and protects our national security,” said Mr McCain, who was one of the harshest critics of the Bush administration’s detention and interrogation policies.

In January, Mr Obama ordered his team to create a plan to close the controversial US detention facility at Guantánamo within one year. Republicans, and some Democrats, have expressed strong reservations about transferring detainees to the US, the most likely scenario when the Cuba-based prison is closed.

Separately, the Central Intelligence Agency on Friday hit back at claims by Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, that the spy agency lied to Congress during 2002 briefings about the use of harsh interrogation techniques.

“There is a long tradition in Washington of making political hay out of our business. It predates my service with this great institution, and it will be around long after I’m gone,” said Leon Panetta, CIA director. “But the political debates about interrogation reached a new decibel level yesterday [Thursday] when the CIA was accused of misleading Congress.”

Mr Panetta said CIA records showed that its officers had accurately informed members of Congress in the 2002 briefing about the “enhanced interrogation techniques”.

“Our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing ‘the enhanced techniques that had been employed.’ Ultimately, it is up to Congress to evaluate all the evidence and reach its own conclusions about what happened,” said Mr Panetta.

On Thursday, Ms Pelosi accused the CIA of misleading her about the use of waterboarding in an effort to fend off Republican criticism that she had endorsed the technique, which she later criticised as torture. Asked at a tense press conference whether she was accusing the CIA of lying, she replied: ”Yes, misleading the Congress of the United States. I am.”

Ms Pelosi has taken flak since Barack Obama, US president, last month released ”torture memos” used by George W. Bush to legally justify harsh interrogations. Ms Pelosi called for a ”truth commission” to probe the treatment of detainees, but Republicans accuse her of hypocrisy, saying she never complained about the techniques when she was allegedly informed about their use during the 2002 briefing.

After the statement by Mr Panetta on Friday, however, Ms Pelosi made an effort to control the damage from her statements, saying she had “great respect” for the CIA employees.

“My criticism of the manner in which the Bush administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe,” said Ms Pelosi.

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Russia and Italy sign gas supply deal

By Isabel Gorst in Moscow

Published: May 16 2009 03:24 | Last updated: May 16 2009 03:24

Russia and Italy agreed on Friday to increase the capacity of the planned South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea, in a move that will intensify concerns about the European Union’s reliance on Russian supplies.

The South Stream project is intended to open a new route for Russian gas to reach the west, avoiding Ukraine. Disputes between Russia and Ukraine have disrupted Europe’s gas supplies, most seriously in January this year when 20 countries suffered shortages.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, his Italian counterpart, oversaw a deal between Gazprom, the Russian gas export monopoly, and Eni of Italy to double South Stream’s capacity to 63bn cubic metres a year – enough to supply more than four-fifths of Italy’s total gas consumption.

Paolo Scaroni, Eni chief executive, said South Stream would improve Europe’s energy security. “What is the meaning of this capacity extension of South Stream? It means 1bn cubic meters more here will be 1bn cubic meters less gas crossing Ukraine.”

South Stream is a rival to the Europe-backed Nabucco project to bring Caspian gas to Europe across the Caucasus and Turkey, easing Europe’s dependence on Russian supplies. But Nabucco investors have struggled to secure gas supplies for the pipeline, a drawback underscored last week when Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan refused to join Azerbaijan, Turkey and Greece in committing to the project.

Mr Putin said South Stream, estimated by Gazprom to cost €8.6bn ($11.6bn, £7.64bn), would improve European energy security.

“If we build multibillion-dollar projects, we are tied to our consumers. This will guarantee stability on the European market,” he said.

Mr Berlusconi said the “EU should itself take steps to build relations with Russia ensuring that there were no problems with [gas] supplies”, Interfax reported.

Eni and Enel, the Italian energy group, agreed to sell Gazprom a 51 per cent interest in three gas fields in west Siberia for $1.5bn to be developed in a partnership by all three companies.

Russia also signed deals with Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia – countries that South Stream will cross. Gazprom said it would complete the project in six years.

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Gazprom to sign South Stream deals with four countries

15.05.2009, 06.01





SOCHI, May 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia’s Gazprom will sign on Friday agreements to promote the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline to Europe with Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian and Italian counterparts in the presence of Prime Ministers Vladimir Putin and Silvio Berlusconi.

The documents “are an important stage in finalizing inter-corporate relations, a major component in the construction of the project,” government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The agreements with Bulgarian Energy Holding, Greek DESFA, and Serbiagaz stipulate the terms for the creation of joint ventures that will provide feasibility studies, design, construct and operate South Stream sections on the respective territories.

Joint ventures with Bulgaria and Greece will be created on a parity basis, while in Serbian JV Gazprom will hold 51% and Serbiagaz 49%.

The agreement with Bulgarian Energy Holding envisages the creation of a separate pipeline, while the national gas transportation system will be used for domestic needs, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said in Moscow in April.

With Italy’s ENI a supplement to the memorandum of understanding will be signed to promote the South Stream implementation, according to Peskov.

“It is hard to doubt the practicability and viability of the (South Stream) project,” he said.

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Chávez seizes pasta plant over quotas for the poor

By Benedict Mander in Caracas

Published: May 16 2009 03:00 | Last updated: May 16 2009 03:00

Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, stepped up his assault on foreign companies yesterday, seizing a pasta factory owned by US food giant Cargill in a move the government claimed was aimed at keeping a lid on rampant inflation.

Venezuelan officials accused Cargill, the world's largest trader of agricultural commodities, of not producing enough of a type of pasta sold at government-set prices and intended for the poor.

The seizure was made after the government expropriated a Cargill rice mill and other food factories in March in a crackdown on companies accused of dodging price regulations. The rules are aimed at curbing inflation and boosting food stocks.

Troops were also mobilised last weekend to assist Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in seizing the assets of some 60 oil service companies .

Speaking outside the pasta plant yesterday, Rafael Coronado, deputy food minister, accused Cargill of a "marked non-compliance with the law". He added that after 90 days, further action could be taken against Cargill, which has 2,000 employees at 22 sites round the country.

With inflationat almost 30 per cent and shortages of staples emerging, Mr Chávez's government is keen to be seen to addressing the problem.

But analysts fear that inflation and food shortages may worsen as plunging oil export revenues force the government to deny importing companies access to dollars, which they need because of exchange controls in force since 2003. Many companies, meanwhile, say Mr Chávez is discouraging production by threatening private property.

Last Sunday Venezuela's anti-capitalist president declared that "no land is private", heralding a new round of seizures of farms deemed "unproductive". Mr Chávez is working on a round of settlements with foreign companies whose operations in Venezuela have been nationalised.

The government agreed last week to pay the Argentine-controlled steel company Ternium $1.97bn (€1.46bn, £1.3bn) for its 60 per cent share in one of Latin America's largest steel plants, Sidor, after it was nationalised last year.

A deal with Spain's Banco Santander is also due to be announced on May 22, after its local unit, Banco de Venezuela, one of the country's biggest banks, was nationalised last year.

Mr Chávez launched his main nationalisation drive during a five-year oil boom when he took over the energy sector, but he has hardly slowed the pace in spite of tumbling crude prices in recent months.

Venezuela seized several oil service companies last week, including a large unit of Williams Companies of the US. Mr Chávez is also trying to buy the Venezuelan unit of Spain's San-tander financial group.

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De Beers woos safe-haven investors

By Tom Burgis in Johannesburg

Published: May 16 2009 03:00 | Last updated: May 16 2009 03:00

De Beers has launched a global campaign to convince investors that diamonds are an alternative to gold as a safe-haven investment.

The move is a sign of the pressure on the world's biggest diamond miner to find new markets following the collapse of traditional sales.

Stephen Lussier, De Beers' executive director for corporate affairs, told the Financial Times the group had been approached in the past two months by "half-a- dozen" brokers linked to sovereign wealth funds and wealthy individuals. He refused to identify them but said talks were in early stages.

But analysts and investors said that the closed nature of the diamond market made them a much less attractive option than gold.

Chaim Even-Zohar, an industry expert who runs Tacy, an Israeli diamond consultancy, said De Beers, which is weighed down by $3.6bn of bank debt, has been scouting for new sources of sales because of a collapse in demand which is expected to force the company to cut production by 40 per cent this year.

"De Beers are leaving no stone unturned to find buyers," he said.

The privately-held company, whose biggest shareholders are mining giant Anglo American, the government of Botswana and South Africa's Oppenheimer family, had sales last year of $6.89bn.

One emerging markets fund manager, who invests in commodities, said: "When you have people asking questions about gold's intrinsic value, it's difficult to see a bankable case for diamonds as a store of value."

Brock Salier, mining analyst at Ambrian, a London-based resources investment bank, said the uncertainty that has gripped equity and currency markets had sparked demand for "hundreds of millions of dollars of something they can stick in a vault", such as diamonds. An anonymous private buyer at a Geneva auction this week paid a record $9.5m for a rare blue stone from Petra Diamonds' Cullinan mine in South Africa.

But Mr Salier added that diamonds represent a much riskier investment than gold. Unlike the yellow metal the stones, traded through auctions and private tenders, have no public market price and there is no instrument investors can use to hedge against fluctuations.

One Johannesburg mining executive suggested De Beers was targeting Saudi Arabia, which is in the process of creating what could be the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund.

But De Beers said Gareth Penny, its chief executive, had not had any meetings with the Saudis during a recent visit to the Gulf, "nor are we aware that anyone has made a presentation to them on our ideas".

State-backed funds in oil-rich Middle Eastern nations and Asian exporters flush with foreign exchange cash have been investing huge sums in western assets in recent years but have suffered losses of late, notably in US financial stocks.

"They've been so badly burned in equities they are likely to look further afield into holding resources and buying resource companies," said Nigel Rendell, senior emerging market strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

"China has been stockpiling commodities. I wouldn't be surprised if other sovereign wealth funds are doing the same."

But he added: "Diamonds are of limited interest to a lot of people because of the difficulty in buying and -selling. Gold remains the ultimate hedge."

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Russia officially bans gambling business
14.05.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/107556-gambling_business-0

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev confirmed the intention of the authorities to ban the gambling business in Russia. Mikhail Mokretsov, the head of Russia’s Federal Tax Service, signed the adequate order immediately after his meeting with Medvedev, The Kommersant newspaper wrote.

All casinos and gambling bars were ordered to shut down their activities before July 1. Federal Tax Service officers will also take efforts to prevent the appearance of disguised gambling establishments.

Medvedev said on May 6 that the new law would come into force on time. “There will be no way back, no matter how hard certain business structures might lobby such decisions,” the president said.

Official spokespeople for the Moscow government said that they had the situation under control. Deputy Moscow Mayor Sergey Baidakov said that the Moscow authorities would not let the gambling business reappear as sports poker clubs. Those willing to open a poker club will have to receive a certification at the Department for Physical Culture and Sport of the Moscow government.

A casino owner said on conditions of anonymity that the gambling business in Russia was not going to cease its existence. He said that his clients would be comfortably accommodated in clandestine gambling clubs that would be widely available in Moscow and many regions of the country.

Nevertheless, owners of casinos and gambling bars do not have much to choose from. Many of them try to move their businesses to the countries of the former USSR, to the Balkan region and Latin America.

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Mysterious dark circles discovered on Lake Baikal ice
15.05.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/107565-lake_baikal-0

Scientists have discovered dark circles on satellite images of Lake Baikal’s ice. They can not explain the phenomenon yet, the website of ScanEx Company said.

“The circles on Baikal’s ice are not a new phenomenon obviously. Due to their big size, it’s impossible to see them from ice or even from mountain ridges surrounding the lake”, the site says. That’s why the circles were discovered when a daily space monitoring of Baikal’s nature territory began upon the request from the Russian Ministry for Natural Resources and Ecology.

According to observations, circle structures do not appear on Baikal’s ice every year. They were first discovered in 1999, then in 2003 and 2005. They mostly appear in April and change their location every time as compared with previous years. Now they were found in the southern end of Baikal.

The causes, which lead to the appearance of circles on the ice of the lake, have not been studied thoroughly yet. Experts presume that they can be connected with emissions of natural gas from Baikal’s sedimentary strata.

From the geological point of view, Lake Baikal is a graben lake, a piece of the Earth’s crust, limited with steep clefts and attached to a rift zone. Rifts are characterized by an increased thermal flux and seismic activity. High temperature causes an intense generation of gas. Emissions of natural gas from the lake bottom can be observed in summer owing to bubbles rising to the surface and in winter due to unfrozen patches of water with diameter from half a meter to hundreds of meters.

“Dark circles on Baikal’s lake are too big. Emissions are likely to be connected with seismic activity and tectonic changes in Baikal’s rift system”, the site quotes the opinion of experts from the Russian Geological Foundation.

There is an opinion that in order to explain the mysterious phenomenon, we should study the system of a thermal point source on the lake bottom. In this case, emissions rising upwards from a thermal source are able to become circled-shaped. Atmospheric and biogenic factors are also likely to be involved in the phenomenon.